Covid-19 and PPE use

[David]

I find it strange that so many consider face masks and gloves the main Personnel Protective Equipment to ward off catching Covid-19.

What about safety glasses? It seems you're much more likely to catch a virus through your eyes than through your hands, but I see numerous images of health care workers, police, paramedics, and others with masks and gloves but no glasses.

Am I missing something?

Anyone here wearing masks to go to the grocery, hardware, convenience store, etc?

[McLovin]

I think you’re missing 2 things.

1. Masks help prevent the transmission/spread of the virus. An infected person with a mask does not transmit as much into the air when breathing/coughing.

2. Even assuming you are equally likely to catch an airborne respiratory virus through your eyes as your nose and mouth (unlikely given the volume of air one breaths) covering your nose and mouth, esp with a HEPA type filter that can filter at the virus level, would help.

As far as catching the virus through your hands, I don’t believe that is directly possible.

[Cajundaddy]

The greatest benefit of eye protection is if you are working with Covid-19 patients and are at risk of a sudden cough or sneeze. The secondary benefit of PPE is that it prevents you from touching your eyes nose or mouth after contacting the virus with your hands.

Masks definitely work to prevent unknowing infected persons from spreading to others by containing aerosol spread as well as creating a barrier to infection for those not yet infected. I don't wear a mask when alone outdoors but always in a store or office building. I am avoiding all public transportation for at least another month because that is by far the greatest public risk of infection.

[David]

To be clear: I definitely agree that masks help prevent spread of the virus, I just don't understand why people think gloves will help but then ignore safety glasses.

[Cajundaddy]

Aerosol inhalation and surface contact are the two most likely paths of infection. Aerosol > eye infection is still possible but probably 100x less likely unless someone coughs directly in your face.

[McLovin]

Based on the information available to them and a risk/burden/reward analysis run in their mind, every individual wears the pieces of PPE they deem appropriate for their situation.

[sammyg2]

Cloth and paper masks don't do much except give people a false sense of protection.

Here's a test: if you can blow smoke though a mask, then the virus can get through it just as easily.
The pores in these masks are larger than the virus, much larger. it'll pass right through. That's partly why they said don't bother with a mask at the beginning.
Later they realized people were freaking out and thought the gubmint wasn't doing anything, so the gubmint threw them a placebo.

Even if you have a real N95 mask, it's only rated to stop 95% of the LARGE particles, aka dust.
Over .3 microns. the virus is at least three times smaller than that.
It will stop larger water vapor droplets by making them stick to the mask. Which you then inhale through.

They will help keep the dust down, a little.
I suppose if you changed the mask out every couple of minutes it would be beneficial to a point.

If ya want respiratory protection, get a half-mask respirator.

[Cajundaddy]

Mask efficacy has been tested.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24229526

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Filtration-Efficiency-and-Pressure-Drop-Across-Materials-Tested-with-Aerosols-of-Bacillus_tbl1_258525804

[911boost]

In some locations where we are screening folks prior to them going into work we are wearing face shields, masks and eye protection.

Like Lovin mentioned the PPE varies by situation.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

This video was shared here recently and is about an hour long. It is not edited well, and the first part labors on a bit, but I felt it gave good insight into hands/vs mask, etc. from someone on the frontline.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YitWZj9QhdQ

In a time where the mask vs non mask, homemade vs surgical vs n95 is getting as convoluted as "the ultimate oil thread"- this Dr. gives some common sense/ real world guidelines as to what each protective measure does, and why it is important.

I was also impressed by his explanation of hand/direct contact transmittal.

[gordner]

As I understand it the main point is it prevents you touching your face around your nose and mouth. That makes sense.

[Sooner or later]

Originally Posted by gordner

As I understand it the main point is it prevents you touching your face around your nose and mouth. That makes sense.

Until Joe Average takes it on and off a half dozen times and it gets contaminated.

[red-beard]

You are spot on. I've been wearing N95 plus safety glasses and gloves at the stores since the March shutdown.

[Zeke]

Gloves don't do anything but remind you by wearing them that you should know where you hands are. It's true that you could wear gloves into the store while grabbing things that other people have come near or touched, with the potential of leaving behind some virus, and then take them off before digging around in your pocket for your keys. That kind of thing.

However, those items in your bags are still a potential so you must treat them as such. I'm particularly concerned about 'wet' fresh vegetables.

David's main point was about some kind of eye protection and eye agree.

[Jay Auskin]

I live one block from a grocery store. It's incredible to see all the people leaving the store, and still wearing gloves while holding their phones. Those who aren't wearing gloves seem to throw them on my front lawn, as I guess that's where you're supposed to put the used ones.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by Jay Auskin

I live one block from a grocery store. It's incredible to see all the people leaving the store, and still wearing gloves while holding their phones. Those who aren't wearing gloves seem to throw them on my front lawn, as I guess that's where you're supposed to put the used ones.

Right, the parking lots are littered. People are basically pigs.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Right, the parking lots are littered. People are basically pigs.

Don't forget self-centered. It's all about me, when it comes to infection protection.

[vash]

i think if EVERYONE had a mask on like in Taipei, good to go.

our eyeballs dont spit when we speak. i type this as i am wearing a mask sitting at my desk with my reading glasses fogged up.

i do however feel an extra layer of protection when i do make my grocery runs. i wear nitrile gloves as well..i have tons of gloves since i declared myself "not a car guy"

[RWebb]

safety glasses will prevent splatter and some bulk flow or diffusion of droplets and droplet nuclei into the eyes (which communicate with the bloodstream (lots of ACE2 receptors) and the upper GI tract)

so YES

Gloves are more dubious - and may give a false sense of security

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

Cloth and paper masks don't do much except give people a false sense of protection.

Here's a test: if you can blow smoke though a mask, then the virus can get through it just as easily.
1. The pores in these masks are larger than the virus, much larger. it'll pass right through. That's partly why they said don't bother with a mask at the beginning.
Later they realized people were freaking out and thought the gubmint wasn't doing anything, so the

2. gubmint threw them a placebo.

Even if you have a real N95 mask, it's only rated to stop 95% of the LARGE particles, aka dust.
Over .3 microns. the virus is at least three times smaller than that.
It will stop larger water vapor droplets by making them stick to the mask. Which you then inhale through.

They will help keep the dust down, a little.
I suppose if you changed the mask out every couple of minutes it would be beneficial to a point.

If ya want respiratory protection, get a half-mask respirator.

1. Masks (if well sealed and made with a HEPA vac bag cutout in the center) will be quite effective at stopping droplets and droplet nuclei which contain the virus. They cover a range of sizes but are much, much larger than a naked virus particle.

It is not even clear how long a naked virus particle can survive without being in aqueous "solution" in a droplet or or nucleus.

2. A fair amount of anecdotal evidence from several Asian countries suggests that any mask helps limit virus dispersal, hence the change in CDC policy.

A lot more to this, but time is short.

So wear the best mask you have or even multiple layers of bandana or T-shirt.